Stress is a killer on the move

Stress is a killer that we live with day after day. It’s like rabbits trying to keep one step ahead of the hounds that are on their tails. We might encourage the rabbit to run faster or cut corners more quickly, but the rabbit will probably be saying, “Thanks for the wonderful words of encouragement and excellent advice, but why doesn’t someone call off the dogs?”

Getting rid of stress is the solution, but how do we do that? I suggest that we begin by examining the promises of God. They are the equipoise of the human spirit. Equipoise is an engineering term which means to have inner strength or pressure pushing out to be equal to or greater than the outside pressure or stress that is pushing in.

Webster defines it as a mental or physical tension that is usually brought on by urgency or pressure.

Moffit translates II Corinthians 1:8-9 as being crushed far beyond what he could stand.

Crushed. Squeezed. Pressed. I’ll be honest with you. I am feeling some of it right now. What about you? What is crushing or pressing you?

According to USA Today, a survey of 501 adults conducted by Research and Forecasts Inc. for Mitchum antiperspirant and deodorant isolated the major sources of stress for typical Americans.

The top 5 sources were:
• Work is the biggest source of stress in our lives.
• Money comes second
• Children was third
• Health issues was fourth and
• Marriage came in 5th.

43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to stress, and stress has been linked to all the leading causes of death, including heart diseases, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis, and suicide.

I remember one lady who was so stretched out that she blurted out, “I feel like I have gone through the wringer.” I smiled at that casual but sincere remark when I remembered what happened to a little guy and his dog. One day he was aware that his dog needed a bath real badly. So he went to the store to buy a box of detergent. The man at the check out register asked the little boy what he wanted with the detergent. “My dog needs a bath,” he replied. The clerk then advised him that this particular detergent was pretty strong for washing a little dog. “That’s OK,” the shopper replied, “he’s might dirty.”

A few days past and the clerk and little boy met again. “How’s the dog,” the clerk asked. “Oh, he’s dead.” The clerk expressed his condolences and concluded by saying, “I guess the detergent was too strong.” “No, I don’t think it was the detergent. I think it was the rinse cycle that got him.”

It’s just another way of going through the wringer…being squeezed, pressed and crushed. The little dog like many human being just can’t stand the wringer.

Paul was obviously hit hard by the stress that was packed upon him in his life journey and he admitted it. He said, “I thought it was going to kill me”, but it didn’t. He found a secret that we all can discover for ourselves. We unlock the secret in II Corinthians.

The first secret is to focus on divine providence and not upon the missing pieces in life’s puzzle.

Verse 3: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our tribulations…”Paul was in trouble up to his neck, but somehow he managed to keep his focus upon Divine Providence instead of the missing pieces of the puzzle of life.

Life is at times full of mysteries and there are so many puzzles that we just can’t seem to solve, but Paul kept his eyes focused upon God. He blesses God in tough times and identifies Him as his Father of mercies and God of ALL comfort…”

Focus on God in times of stress not failures, fears and frustrations. The God of all mercies and comforts will not fail you. He holds the final piece of the puzzle and once it falls into place the picture will be clear.

The second secret is to focus on the purpose and not upon the pain. (verses 4 -7)

Verse 4 defines a definite purpose of stressful situations. “That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” What a purpose for stress and pain. Through it we gain experience with God. We find His comfort in the most severe crisis. He is never unavailable or inaccessible. He comes to us when we can’t come to Him. One purpose of pain and stress is to teach us our need to depend completely upon God and encourage others to accept the same. Charles De Gaulle explained it this way. “A mans character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.” Pain and stress are avenues that lead to our true potentiality in God.

Finally, focus on the promises and not upon the problems. (verse 20)

Promises are to stress what Rolaids are to an upset stomach…O, what a relief they are. Our stress increases in direct proportion to the decrease in awareness of God’s promises.

His promises are as inclusive as all of our needs. They are not drugs from the apothecary in the sky which causes spiritual hallucinations. The promises of God are realities whose time has not come. They are telescopes that bring things near to us that are not seen by the human eye. They are like promissory notes that are due on demand or to be paid at a specific time.

The more we trust the sovereignty of heaven, the less we fear the calamities of earth. Pull out a promise from God’s Word and plug into God’s power to sustain you through the pressures and stresses you are facing. In Him, you will find relief!

Peace Out!!!

Pastor Jimmy & Bob